Most of the sculptures here come from the
excavations carried out in the years 1773/79 in the so-called Villa of Cassius in Pianelle of Carciano at
Tivoli except Euterpe Muse of lyric and Urania muse of astronomy that are
modern

FIRST VESTIBULE

On the right wall “Relief with Pyrrhic dance” Roman art of the
late-Republican period, based on an Attic relief of the fourth century BC

The Pyrrhic dance was probably of Cretan
origin. During the performance each soldier would hit with his sword the shield
of the soldier next to him

The head is of the first century AD, the
body of the second century AD, but both are derived from a model maybe of the
circle of Lysippus of the early Hellenistic period with the Silenus accompanied
by a panther

OCTAGONAL ROOM

“Belvedere Torso” first century BC signed by Apollonios the son of Nestor, an Athenian belonging to
the followers of the neo-Attic style

It influenced Michelangelo's and others'
(Auguste Rodin) sculpture, so much that Michelangelo proclaimed himself “student
of the Torso” and was inspired by his “master” for the “Nudes” in the Sistine
Chapel. It was an object of worship by the Renaissance artists

It maybe represents Hercules or, according
to recent German studies, Ajax contemplating suicide

It was found before 1432, perhaps on the
Quirinal Hill, but the exact date and place are unknown. Not even the date of
its entry in the Vatican collection is certain

“The series of discoveries in Tivoli, plus
the muses from Villa Adriana and the Villa of the Quintili, suggest the
creation of a series of sculptures that influenced the decorative choices of
rich residences of the mid-imperial period, located in Latium region. Hadrian
has been considered as the client, who would have entrusted artists educated in
the Greek tradition, able to standardize already well known iconography - not
exclusively related to muses - and borrowed from different stylistic currents”
(Eleonora Ferrazza)

“It wasn't a portrait statue, inconceivable
at the time, but of an ideal image, exemplary embodiment of a political
ideology that would be democratic and egalitarian. Ethical values still take
precedence over individual characterization” (Marina Castoldi)

The body is inspired by
an iconography which is often found in the representations of emperors, while
the name of the character represented in the not pertinent head, even though it
is known from other copies, has not been identified with certainty